Players, members and supporters from every Barwon and South West football and netball club will wear blue armbands this weekend to honour people killed on Victorian roads and show their commitment to road safety.
The Andrews Labor Government has partnered with AFL Victoria and the TAC for the second annual Road Safety Round, with people from every AFL Victoria-affiliated football and netball league to show their support with armbands.
Road Safety Round will see all clubs in the Geelong, Colac, Bellarine, Hampden, Mininera, Warrnambool and South West leagues leading road safety conversations in their communities.
The blue armbands have a QR code that links to an online hub featuring stories from ambassadors explaining why road safety matters to them.
Road Safety Round runs from August 6 to 8 and will see more than 1,200 clubs leading road safety conversations in their communities, reaching more than 700,000 members of grassroots football and netball clubs.
Victoria’s footballers and netballers travel thousands of kilometres on the state’s roads for games and training sessions every year.
So far this year, 14 people have lost their lives on roads in the Barwon South West region and in 2020, a total of 22 people died on the region’s roads.
The round is complemented by the TAC’s Footy Rewards Program, which offers grants of up to $10,000 to clubs that engage with their members on road safety issues.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Roads and Road Safety Ben Carroll
“Road Safety Round is crucial in sparking important conversations with the people who drive every day and encouraging them to make safe choices and look out for each other.”
“You’d be hard-pressed to find a grassroots football or netball club in Victoria that hasn’t experienced road trauma, which has an ongoing ripple effect through the whole community.”
Quotes attributable to Duty Member Gayle Tierney, on behalf of Lisa Neville, Member for Bellarine
“People in Western Victoria are passionate about their sport, so we hope that engaging with the community in this way will make a difference in how people think about road safety.”
Quotes attributable to Head of Road Safety Samantha Cockfield
“Victoria’s grassroots football and netball clubs have strong communities surrounding them and we see the devastation road trauma can have when someone is killed or seriously injured.”
“Road Safety Round is not only about honouring the lives lost on our roads, but also empowering thousands of Victorians to have important conversations about how they can make our roads safer.”